Sunday Show-Off: Big-Holed Beads!

As beads are what first attracted me to lampwork, I must stay true to my roots.  This weekend, I worked on new color combinations and have a kiln full of wavy beads to show later.  For now, let's look at a few new big-holed beads (the ones fitting Pandora, Chamilia, Trolll bracelets, etc.):

If you can make that first bead in the session, you may make many others.  This bead is made from one of my favorite color blends with red and purple.  At the very least, that one bead needs some company!

You get on a roll, and start making many new beads.  Nowadays, I wonder who will receive the beads I work on, and if they will be used in some fantastic creation.  Even by themselves, they are focally attractive to me :)

Before you notice, you haven't eaten for a few hours, your throat is dry, and the kiln is Chock FULL!  We realize our addiction and take the first step to moving on; admitting we have a bead problem!

Well, at least I know I'm hooked, I love beads! Stay tuned next week for new designs and colors, and some awesome focal beads coming soon to a photo near you. Happy Sunday!

Sunday Show Off for December 19, 2010

Happy Sunday!  Well, today I wanted to show off something I am proud of, because these were made by my current glass student.  She had a part in most of these, and the wreath was what I made for her when she was going to town making all these trees.  We make something different each lesson, and though we were not planning on making Christmas trees that day, our short session, the last one for this year, was well spent making these adorable trees.  We had a few that didn't make it into this shot, but that's OK, these are the best! I am very proud of her, and wanted to share these with you guys. 

Glass trees and wreath from a recent flamework lesson

We have a good time every lesson, and she is a truly kind and pleasant person to be around.  I enjoy teaching her, and am fortunate to know her too.  Thanks for sharing this glass pride with me, and I'll see you later in the week, to stop by and say Merry Christmas!!!

Sunday Show-Off for December 12, 2010

I know, I've been offline a lot this holiday season so far.  We have a lot of shows during this time of year, and this is the first day I've actually gotten a full night's sleep! :) Yay for sleep!  Anyhow, no show today, so I'll be able to catch up on my blogging, laundry, reading, and of course, more glasswork for this week's shows.  In the midst of our busy show schedule, I had a challenging custom order for a set of green tree frogs. A nice customer sent me a photo of a tree frog and asked if it was possible to represent the little fella in glass.  Well, after some sufficient planning and practice, she was able to pick them up from our booth Friday, and here's my last-minute photo:

Yes, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, and they are HARD to make!  She was just ecstatic about them, and said they turned out so much better than she'd imagined was possible.  I love that kind of feedback, so I wanted to share it with you guys.  Have a great Sunday, and thanks for stopping in!

Sunday Show-Off: September 19th, 2010

Birthday Weekend!!!

Ok, so amidst all the fun I still managed to make some holiday glass art recently, so feast your ghoulish eyes on these babies!

Orange Pumpkin Trio, Earring Charms and Pendant Set

I'm going to make those into earrings soon :)  Also, this adorable dark dark cobalt/black bat pendant is new, and I'll make matching earrings soon enough!

Black Bat Pendant

I think you may have seen these little guys already, but here goes again, can't hurt, right?

Blue and White Skull Earrings

Thanks for visiting, and I'll see you later in the (birthday) week!

Sunday Show-Off: September 5th, 2010

Happy Sunday!  It's a great day to catch up on house chores we neglected through the week, especially with two shows :)  I hope your Sunday is relaxing, as it's a nicer day out here than it was all week.  Well, today I wanted to share with you three of our latest glass art pieces to be listed, especially this first lovely implosion flower:

Blue Green Glass Implosion Flower Pendant

I love making sealife, and tentacles offer lots of variety on one piece...  So, here's our cutest octopus, this lovely bright yellow one:

Canary Yellow Glass Octopus Pendant

And of course just in time for the holidays, a treat for cat lovers:)

Black Cat Pendant

Hope you enjoy the day and have a great Labor Day tomorrow :)  See you later!

Sunday Show-Off: August 22nd, 2010

Two blog posts in one day?  Ridiculous!  Now if I could get you to read both... then that would really be something :)

Today I'd like to showcase my new summery beach goodies, with my favorite first:

My newest beach bead, Beach Scene Shell Pendant

Then, my new whale tail pendant (my Sealife Series):

 

Whale Tail Pendant

And lastly (part of my Botanicals Series):

 

New Palm Tree Pendant

The palm tree is the only one listed for now, but after I measure the others they'll get on Artfire too.  I just wanted to share them with you guys and gals first!  See you again soon!

Sunday Show-Off: August 8, 2010

Happy Sunday!  Even though Saturday is my favorite day of the week, Sunday is a close second, especially when we have set aside most of the day for housework and some glass in the cool morning...

I love sculpting animals, and it's been awhile since I made new fish.  A recent purchase of a fish pushed me to make new, fancy fish, so feast your sleepy Sunday eyes on these!

Glass Fish Frenzy - New Fish Pendants

Can you see the koi in the upper right corner?  Yes, he blends into the white background all too well...  That's OK, I've photographed him separately too!

Koi on Black Background

I wanted to start making koi fish so that I can send one to my sister for her birthday next month... Luckily she's a busy woman and doesn't keep up on my blog :)  This isn't the one I'm sending her though, as hers is the fanciest one I don't want to tease people with it since this little guy is almost as fancy.  All of these are currently available, but that can change as they find good homes, so I will keep making new fish as we enjoy the busy summer show season.

I'm working on other animals lately, furthering our inventory of unique glass art creations, with the recent addition of an owl, whale tail, crab, and a baby seal.  If you can think of an animal you'd like to see in my style of glass art, please email me or mention it when you come see our booth at the Farmer's Market :)  Meantime, more to come as I get better and better at my exotic critters! Thanks for reading, and have a great week, folks!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Happy Sunday folks!  It's a day for relaxation, and that's just what I'll do after my morning lesson ;)  Relaxing is great, but Sundays are also good for sneaking some exercise into your weekend...  Once we get into our summer groove, we'll start hiking more, like this photo of Paul I took on a morning hike:

Lots of inspiration can be found in nature, as these flowers are so lovely!  Cute critters and wonderful wildflowers everywhere, though I think this time of the season there might not be as many blossoms...

Next Sunday, maybe some new flowers?  I did make a lovely purple and white one last week... Stick around!

Sunday: Showing Off

No lizard yet, but he's a coming!  In the meantime, here's a new seahorse from my studio featuring a red, teal, and purple blend.

Red, Teal, & Purple Seahorse Pendant

I know, the colors are pretty hip on that fella :)  

Next in line: my somewhat-scary (it's the eyes, I think that's what makes him scary) Black Dotted-Back Spider Pendant:

The bail is white like a little bit of webbing :)

Hope your weekend is as relaxing as mine: I finally have a day off, woohoo!

Sunday Show-off: Custom Red Pinscher

It's not every day you get a good challenge for glass art, though lately it does seem as though my customers are connoisseurs and appreciate the skill involved for their goodies.  I do have great customers, and want to do my best when they ask for something special.  This is along those lines, as the custom mermaid was specifically designed to meet stringent specifications, so was this lovely red mini pinscher.  He wanted a red one, and I asked, "Copper?" "No," he replied, "he's pretty red."  After a bit of research and study, this is what we created as our first mini pinscher:

Red Mini Pinscher Custom Pendant

They have long legs for their size, and the eyes are not recessed or blended in with the skull like some other breeds.  His little ears must stand up and his tail is docked, though personally I would be a softie if given the choice for my poochie and let him keep his natural traits, though I don't think you often have a choice, especially if you rescue one.

It's really amazing how many breeds of dogs there are, and this led us on a journey to discover a bit about pinschers, mini ones, dobermans (named after a tax collected that began the breed!), great danes (though sometimes these get mistaken for ponies), and shepherds, of course.  It did make me inspired to adopt a dog, but the cats put that thought back out of my mind, as this is their home and that would be an intrusion of their freedom.  Dogs are hard to resist though, as such sweet animals you just want to adopt them all...  Well, at least I can donate more pieces to the animal fundraisers, with mine successfully sold at the silent auction last month.  Now that I know I can make dogs, I guess these would be the best pieces to donate to the shelters, right?

Happy Sunday all, I hope it's very restful :)